Sen. Mark Leno, D-S.F., says that the spending cap proposed by Republicans is addressing the wrong problem: California doesn't have a spending problem; it has a revenue problem.

Photo: Kim Komenich, The Chronicle

Sen. Mark Leno, D-S.F., says that the spending cap proposed by...

Image 2 of 2

SCHWARZENEGGER10_110_KK.JPG
California State Assemblyman Mark Leno on the Asssembly floor before California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives the 2007 State of the State Address.
Photo by Kim Komenich/The Chronicle
Ran on: 03-17-2007
State Sen. Carole Migden is seeking a second four-year term in the upper house.
Ran on: 03-17-2007
State Sen. Carole Migden is seeking a second four-year term in the upper house.
Ran on: 04-23-2007
S.F. lawmakers Mark Leno, left, and Carole Midgen, right, said they are working to make the city safe for immigrants.
ALSO Ran on: 04-23-2007
S.F. lawmakers Mark Leno, left, and Carole Midgen, right, said they are working to make the city safe for immigrants.
ALSO Ran on: 09-08-2007
Assemblyman Mark Leno authored two previous bills that would have legalized same-sex marriage.
ALSO Ran on: 09-17-2007
Assemblyman Mark Leno sponsored the bill approved this month.
ALSO Ran on: 11-18-2007
Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisors President Aaron Peskin confer in January. They now don't see eye to eye on trip to China. �2007, San Francisco Chronicle/Kim Komenich
MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT

A bill that would require airlines to provide basic amenities for passengers - including water, snacks, fresh air, sanitary restrooms and lights - if their airplane is delayed on a tarmac in California for more than three hours is heading to state legislators for consideration.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is sponsoring what he calls the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, introduced Wednesday and modeled after legislation in New York that survived an airline industry challenge in federal court.

In the meantime, several states have taken up the cause. The first was New York, in the aftermath of the JetBlue experience last Valentine's Day. That bill, like Leno's, requires airlines to provide stranded passengers at New York airports with critical supplies to make delays of three hours as tolerable as possible.

There must be drinking water, snacks and other refreshments, electric-generation service for fresh air and lights and removal of waste from holding tanks for on-board restrooms for the airplanes using New York airports. It carries a penalty of $1,000 per passenger per violation.

The Air Transport Association, the trade association representing major carriers, challenged the New York law in U.S. District Court in Albany, arguing the federal government pre-empts state rights to legislate customer service.

Judge Lawrence Kahn dismissed the challenge, saying the matter is a health and safety issue, not a customer service issue, and therefore it is not pre-empted by federal law. The legislation became law Jan. 1.

The trade association appealed, on the theory that a customer service issue is at the heart of the dispute. The group asked for an expedited hearing, and one is scheduled March 5, said David Castelveter, an association spokesman.

"We will oppose the bill in the State of California for a passenger bill of rights," said Castelveter.

Leno said he had followed Hanni's efforts in forming the coalition, now with 22,000 members, but had thought a court would rule that states were federally pre-empted, "and there was nothing I could do as state legislation."

That changed with Judge Kahn's ruling, notwithstanding the trade association's appeal, said Leno.

The bill allows for a sanction if harm can be shown - physical, emotional or economic harm to passengers. A district attorney could file suit against the airline and seek penalties ranging from $2,500 to $6,000 per person.

Meanwhile, similar efforts are under way in several other states, said Leno.

The Department of Transportation does not count diverted airplanes and other data when it compiles data on stranded airlines, Hanni noted in the "Airline Stranding Report Card" she issued at the news conference Wednesday.

Hanni, who has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging false imprisonment for the delay she experienced when her flight was diverted from Dallas to Austin, gave the Department of Transportation failing grades in areas pertaining to stranded passengers.

Melissa Wheeler of Tollhouse (Fresno County), was also stranded in Austin on Dec. 29, 2006 - on board an airplane on the tarmac for 10 hours. One of her fellow passengers suffered a diabetic shock on board, she said.

"We thought about creating a riot," she said. "We thought about doing everything. We turned into animals."